Conductor rail



E. B. GRACE AND W. J. LAFFEY.

CONDUCTOR RAIL. APPHCATION FILED MAR. 18. 1921.

1,41 6,1 92 Patented May 16, 1922. {91].

U it" stares 'ATEET orFicE'.

' EDWIN B. GRACE AND WILLIAM J. LAFFEY, 0F MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

CGND'UCTOR RAIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedMay 16, 1922.

Application filed March 18, 1821. Serial No. 453,454.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWIN B. Grace and lVILLrAM J. Larrnr, citizens of the United States, residing at liitemphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conductor Rails, of which the following is a specification.

T his invention relates to improvements in electrical current conducting rails,-and more particularly to a type of the same adapted for supplying current to all forms of elec trically driven vehicles,including the form of freight handling trucks as shown anddescribed in copending application filed July 16, 1921, and serially numbered 485,242, the same being a division of the original subject matter of the present application.

The principal object of the invention is to provide for a conductor rail of the class mentioned. and one wherein the several conductors of an electrical circuit, preferably of a three wire system of electrical distribution either alternating or direct current, are suitably enclosed in channel ways extending one parallel to the other so as to be protected from damage, and in a manner to prevent persons from coming into contact with the same, but which are readily accessible for the cooperation therewith of a trolley wheel or head carried 011 the vehicle to be propelled, this trolley wheel or head being preferably constructed and arranged after the manneras disclosed in our co-pending application filed July 16, 1921, and serially numbered 485,243.

Another object of the invention is to provide for a multi-channeled conductor rail of the character mentioned, and one wherein one of the channels thereof is of a construction to cooperate with a trolley head, carried on a vehicle to be propelled, in a manner to eifect an automatic steering of the latter, or to greatly aid in the manual steering of the same, when the vehicle is of a type not requiring or otherwise not making use of a trackway for its operation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention resides in the certain novel and useful construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appended claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in wl11ch:-

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through a preferred embodiment of the conductor rail structure, and through the trol-,

ley head associated therewith, and,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail, partly in parallel channels 10, 11 and 12, of substan-- tially' the same cross sectional area,'onewith respect to the other, and inthe bottom of each channel is laid a strip 13 of an insulating material, Spaced along the length of each of the channels are suitable conductor supports 14 secured in position by means of fastenings or screws 15 and are suitably insulated from contact therewith, as at16. The top portions of these supports 14 are grooved to receive therein the trolley wires 17, the opposite sides of said grooves being swaged or otherwise shaped to partially inclose the complemental portions of the trolley wires so as to securely retain the same in position.

Adapted for use with the 'rail'thus provided, is a trolley head formed to provide three trolley wheels 18, 19 and 20, thesame being constructed and arranged after the manner as described and illustrated for the same in our co-pending application filed July 16, 1921, and serially numbered 485,243.

The center trolley wheel 19, is of a thickness to traverse the channel I), in fairly snug relation, while the trolley wheels 18 and 20 are substantially less thickness than the width of the channels 10 and 12, in which they operate, the latter channels being partially inclosed from the opposite vertical walls thereof by means of plates or metal strips 21 being secured on the top faces of the said vertical walls and forming guide slots 22 between theiradjacent edges, which adjacent edges are preferably outwardly bevelled as at 23, whereby to facilitate the insertion into the slots therebetween of the trolley wheels 18 and 20.

It is well understood that, while the systern as a. whole, and the operating parts thereof, has been described herein in specific terms of arrangement and construction, various changes in the same may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed, is

1. A conductor rail comprising a casting formed to provide a series of channels, the vertical walls of the intermediate of the said channels being of a greater thickness than that of the other walls of the casting, supports equi-distantly spaced along each of said channels and insulated theretrennand conductors extending through each of the said channels and secured in said supports.

2. A conductor rail comprising a casting formed to provide a series of longitudinally extending channels each substantially U- shaped in cross section, the vertical walls of the intermediate of the said channels being thickened with respect to the outer vertical walls of the other of said channels, supports spaced along the bottom walls of said. chan nels and insulated therefrom, and conductors within said channels and secured in said supports.

' A conductor rail comprising a casting formed to provide three parallel channels, the vertical Walls of the intermediate 01'' said channels being of a greater thickness than that of the other Walls of the casting, sup ports spaced equi-distantly Within each of said channels and insulated therefrom, conductors of a three wire system of electrical. distributions extending one through each. of said channels and secured in said supports, and metal plates carried at the open sides of 4 certain of said channels and forming slots coextensive with the length of" the casting and opening into and medially of the channels and in line with the conductm's therein.

4-. A conductor rail comprising a casting 4 formed to provide three parallel CllRUUQlS, the vertical walls of the intermediate oil said channels being oi a greater thickness than that of the other walls of said casting, supports spaced equi-distantly within each of 5 saidchannels' and insulated therefrom, con ductors of a three Way system of electrical distribution extending one through each of the said channels and secured in said supports, and metal plates arranged in pairs one with each of the outer of said channels, the plates of each pair thereof being secured on the free edges of the said channels to overlie the same and in spaced relation one with respect to the other to provide slot-ways 6 therebetween and medially of the channels in line with the conductors therein, the opposed spaced edges of each pair of the plates being outwardly beveled whereby to direct the trolley contacts to be used with the rails 6 inwardly oi": the channels and into contactin; relation with the conductors therein.

In testimony whereof, we allix our signatures hereto.

EDWIN B. GRACE. XVILLIAM J. LAFFEY. 

